So how can you help? Basically, either your time or your money is required. For some things, you will have to get your hands dirty; for others, you can just click and be done with it. This list will give you a current overview of your opportunities.

1. Sign the Petition to Fight The Inhumane Conditions In Front of LaGeSo

Nobody said that the situation was easy, neither for the general public, nor for the administration. But: if you’ve been in front of the LaGeSo (the ministry at which the refugees have to register for temporary shelter when they first arrive), you know the situation is dire. Many people are needed for voluntary help. Unfortunately, everything going on there relies on volunteers and civilians. The administration isn’t helping at all. There’s not enough people, not enough money, not enough reaction to deal with the challenge. Men, women and children are still camping outside of the LaGeSo at freezing temperatures.

This petition calls for the Berlin administration to finally develop a working concept of how to process and register the people faster (among other things) and to acknowledge the seriousness of the situation. You can help by signing the respective petition.

2. Help out at LaGeSo: Tea

“Tee vor dem LaGeSo” is a very specific Facebook group with tight restrictions: you can’t join if you’re not willing to participate. They serve tea after 21:30 at the LaGeSo to those who arrive late or even sleep over. The tea is brought from home, ready to serve. You just go to the people who are there and offer them tea. Everyday will be a new posting in the group to ask who wants to join the day’s mission. Everybody is responsible for bringing their own tea and snacks for distribution. Black tea with sugar is preferred, don’t forget plastic cups.

3. Help out at LaGeSo: Night Service

There is nothing at night in front of the LaGeSo, and yet people have to stand in line as to get new vouchers or temporary shelters. Problem is: the LaGeSo doesn’t keep word on its own appointments, meaning that people have to come back time and time again to queue up. The situation is terrible. There are no toilets, there is no warmth; there are heated tents for which there’s no entrance at night. Why? Nobody seems to know (which brings us back to the petition). If it weren’t for the group “Nachts vor dem LaGeSo“, the people would sit through rain and freezing weather with nothing to help them. The volunteers bring blankets, tea, food and everything else to help with this catastrophic situation.

4. Donate Money

I want to encourage everyone to invest ten minutes to find an organization of your choice to donate to directly. My personal suggestions are:

Moabit Hilft: the most important group of volunteers that are handling most of the work in front of the LaGeSo.

Welcome Baby Bags: they prepare useful bags for pregnant women or new mothers and their babies.

You can also sponsor a refugee. Sponsoring a refugee is a bit more than a donation. At the Kirchenkreis Stadmitte, a week of all the necessary basics for a refugee is covered by 63 Euro, a month by 270 Euro (housing and elementary basics is around 9 Euro per day). (source)

5. Donate Time & Skills

Don’t consider your invested time as emergency help or altruistic mission; it’s an investment into our collective future. People should be independent at some point. So why not share your skills? And your social life? A glimpse into what a regular, sheltered existence in Berlin looks like may help in adapting to the changes. Hopefully, they’ll like it. Hopefully, they will be able to make this city their home.

Everybody should help in their own personal ways. I’ve heard about artists who opened up their ateliers for workshops and about tour guides who are doing free tours to tours to show the refugees Berlin. There are plenty of organizations now that are trying to connect refugees to Berliners (and vice versa). Here are some of them.

WeConnect Berlin: This organization connects refugees to local initiatives in order to give refugees the opportunity to engage socially and locally.

Start With A Friend: Start With A Friend connects you with one refugee for a certain matter. You’ll help him find his way here and hopefully make a friend. It’s kind of like tandem language classes. The initiative expects you to invest about 2-3 hours of your time per week, for half a year. The organisation helps by providing you with all necessary information and will take care of all of your questions. It’s in GERMAN but if you’ve been in Berlin for a while and have some knowledge of the language, I think you’ll be fine.

Volunteer Planner: For hands-on work at emergency shelters, for translations, transport and literally everything. The platform is an organization tool that shows you where you can help (which emergency housing) at what time for which community / organization.

6. Donate Your Space

It must be shit to sleep outside because you’re forced to wait in line. The camps are bitter, too: throw hundreds of different, struggling men into a tiny barrack, and see what happens for yourself. I can’t even relax in my co-working space if I don’t have enough privacy. How would it feel to share beds and square meters with strangers at every waking moment of your life?

If you have free space, register at Place4Refugees.de. Please note: many people don’t need more than one night, or even one dinner and a little rest. If you live close to LaGeSo, you can tick the respective box. Nobody is going to be sent over spontaneously – you’ll always get a call beforehand. And you can decide how long the people can stay with you.

Of course, Flüchtlinge Willkommen also helps you find the right match to your WG, but has a more long-term approach in mind.

7. Donate Your Winter Clothes

Most people who arrive in Germany come from warmer climates, have lost all of their belongings on the journey and experience the cold first-hand. Meanwhile, we all have old sweaters and boots that aren’t needed anymore. There are plenty of places that accept your donations.

9. Stay Updated

MitVergnügen and Stil in Berlin have teamed up to bring you weekly news of the refugee situation. There’s a lot of helpful information in there, especially if you can’t keep track of the local development. For the English version, check out the last episode: Stil in Berlin’s FuGeeLa #14.